Anime fans often underappreciate English dubs, feeling that the original Japanese source material shouldn’t be altered and should be watched as is. Nonetheless, a lot of work goes into making an English dub. Producers and writers collaborate closely with those in Japan to ensure the translation is as accurate to the source material as possible. Writers must find the correct vocabulary to use to make sure the dialogue is as close to the original language as possible. Voice actors must match the lip sync with the anime while attempting to deliver a good performance. Anime dubs are also coming out quicker after the Japanese airdates, meaning the producers, writers, actors, and directors must work extra fast to get the dubs out on time.
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Some anime fans will always believe the original Japanese subtitles are superior, yet many excellent English dubs exist. A good performance is a good performance, no matter the language barrier, and plenty of amazing English voice actors who have played the best anime characters ever. Sometimes, an English dub would surpass the original Japanese language, delivering some of the best vocal performances in the medium. To finally give anime dubs their flowers, here are ten examples of an English dub surpassing the original Japanese version of anime.
Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is likely the earliest example most fans can think of a dub surpassing the original Japanese version. Whereas contemporary dubs of the late 90s still included voice actors who used silly voice lines and awkward performances, Cowboy Bebop took its source material seriously and delivered powerful vocal performances. Steve Blum as Spike Spiegel is one of the most legendary dub performances in the medium, elevating an already cool character to bigger heights.
Some aspects of the Cowboy Bebop dub show their age, especially regarding the background voices and sound quality. Nonetheless, the Cowboy Bebop dub truly showed audiences that there are merits to English voice-acting in anime.
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Mobile Fighter G Gundam is guilty of many problems associated with 90s dubs, including stilted line deliveries, weird vocal direction, and odd translation choices. The dub is elevated, or even carried, by the tremendous performance of its lead actor, Mark Gatha as Domon Kasshu. Domon is known for his loud personality and screaming at the top of his lungs during battle; it’s a type of character that generally works better in Japanese.
Nonetheless, Gatha is so very emotionally charged in his deliveries, adding depth and energy to the performance that’s not even matched in the Japanese version. Gatha somehow made a line like “This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its loud roar tells me to defeat you! Take this! My love! My anger! And all of my sorrow!” work so effectively in the dub, making an over-the-top dialogue feel profound.
Yu Yu Hakusho
The Yu Yu Hakusho dub shows its age more so than other dubs on this list. The dub suffers from issues that plagued early English dubs, including awkward voice delivery, goofy voices, and unnecessary translation changes. Despite that, the dub is upgraded thanks to the performance and chemistry of the main casts, specifically from the voice performance of Justin Cook as the lead character, Yusuke.
Cook gives Yusuke a distinct voice that makes the character stand out while emphasizing his delinquent attitude. Cook and the rest of the main English cast improve on the performances from the Japanese version, giving characters more of an off-beat chemistry. The Yu Yu Hakusho dub is one of the rare times when a ’90s dub made changes to the source material that enhanced the experience rather than distracted it.
Ghost Stories
Usually, a good dub stays as close to the source material as possible. However, in the case of Ghost Stories, the opposite is true. What makes the Ghost Stories dub so great is the fact that it’s a complete joke. Rather than be an accurate adaptation of the original children’s horror series, the Ghost Stories dub made the anime a straight-up comedy for adults with deeply offensive dialogue that directly mocks the show itself.
While the colorful language and several terminologies will not fly in today’s market, the Ghost Stories dub is a perfect capsulation of American society during the mid-2000s. The show is just ridiculous for absurdity’s sake, making the derogatory dialogue feel more outrageous than it is seriously. If anything, it’s hilarious to hear professional voice actors making up the most rude dialogue on the fly and staying true to the show’s horror roots.
Dragon Ball Z Kai
The original Dragon Ball Z dub is one of the all-time greatest and most iconic dubs in pop culture. Millions of fans watch the original English language version of the classic shonen anime, enjoying the voices of a generation of watchers, from Sean Schemmel’s iconic vocal performance as the good-hearted Goku to Chris Sabat’s aggressive performance as the arrogant Vegeta, it is difficult to imagine Dragon Ball Z having any other English voice actors.
Despite how iconic the original performances are, the original DBZ dub is amateurish compared to the more modern dubs. The dub in the re-edited Dragon Ball Z Kai is much higher quality, with every cast member giving some of the best performances in their careers. No matter which language you watch Dragon Ball Z in, expect to hear plenty of yelling.
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Death Note
Death Note is an anime that takes itself very seriously, even in inherently silly moments. The notorious moment where Light Yagami narrates eating a potato chip while writing names on the Death Note has become an enduring internet joke for years. Yet, somehow, Light’s English voice actor, Brad Swaile, elevates the scenes into meme status. Swaile adds a lot of inherent self-importance in Light’s dialogue, emphasizing the character’s intelligence and arrogance.
Likewise, Alessandro Juliani’s performance as L has rightly earned acclaim from fans and critics. Juliani successfully translated plenty of L’s eccentricities to make them seem more natural and less over-the-top in English. However, the undeniable winning formula of Swaile’s and Juliani’s chemistry exceeded the dub’s reputation.
Code Geass
By the mid-2000s, anime dubs were gradually becoming more consistent. Scripts were more accurate to the Japanese source material, and actors now knew how to perform for Japanese-adapted media. Nonetheless, the common misconception among anime fans is that the original Japanese sub is always better than the dub. No matter what, there’s something inherent in the Japanese versions that can’t be replicated in the English-language versions.
Code Geass then shocked fans by supplying a vocal performance so undeniable that fans had to give the dub its flowers. Johnny Yong Bosch’s performance as Lelouch is often regarded as one of the all-time best dub performances, improving the Japanese performance by giving a more nuanced take on the character’s melodramatic personality. While Bosch still gave Lelouch a lot of flare and over-the-top line deliveries, he made the character, who was already complicated yet a little silly in the Japanese version, more grounded among his outrageous theatrics. The Code Geass dub isn’t as revolutionary as it was when it first aired, not all the English actors hold up, but it is still a classic among dub fans.
Space Dandy
Space Dandy would become a prototype for how dub translations would be handled in the modern anime landscape. Space Dandy was one of the first animes to simulcast dub and sub, meaning the dub for the anime was available nearly simultaneously with the original Japanese subtitles. The Space Dandy dub showed fans how far English dubbing has come, highlighting how people no longer have to wait to watch a translated version of their favorite anime as it airs in Japan.
The dub also perfectly translated the jokes and humor of the original Japanese language, assuring viewers will get the nuance and tone of the comedy no matter what language they watch it in. Stuff you wouldn’t even think would be funny in English becomes hilarious thanks to the English cast’s committed performances.
Kill la Kill
Kill la Kill has a specific style and tone that makes translating it into English difficult for some fans to comprehend. The show is incredibly over-the-top, with kinetic animation and outrageous fan service. Everything about Kill la Kill feels catered to the Japanese language. How could an English dub ever match the quality of something so inherently Japanese?
Nonetheless, the Kill la Kill dub exceeded everyone’s expectations thanks to a smart script that knew what changes were needed to make it make more sense in English and one of the strongest English casts in anime history. Everyone in the dub cast knew the assignment, giving it their all and matching the high energy from the original Japanese version. The cast is anchored by an amazing breakout performance of Erica Mendez as Ryuko, presenting anime fans with one of the surprising anime dubs of the last few decades.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Fullmetal Alchemist has always been famous for having the correct mixture of deep, complicated themes and memorable fight scenes. The series was mature and nuanced during a time when anime wasn’t viewed as being high-art, while at the same time delivering some of the coolest action in any show. Fullmetal Alchemist also has the right amount of silly jokes sprinkled throughout, assuring viewers the series doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The dub actors earnestly took the material of Fullmetal Alchemist seriously, incorporating nuanced performances that deliver the series’ message. The dub actors improved with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the more accurate anime series based on the manga. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an anime with no weak dub performances and continues to rank highly among fans. If you only ever watch subs, we highly recommend you at least watch the dub version of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
